Symphony
by MadFox32
Summary: What happens when six fun and crazy authors write together? This letter fic (essentially an acrostic poem with a one-shot for each letter) begins at the end of DD and switches perspectives between Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, and Trucy each chapter. Full of humor, feels, and co-writing shenanigans: AceFangirl, aceredshirt, CanHalfEmpty, Lumos314, misa96 and I present to you: Symphony!
1. Treat

Remember that Justicykes fic MadFox mentioned in You're Fine? Yeaaaah… It kinda got a _biiit_ out of hand. This is what it ended up becoming - sorry to all you Justicykes fans out there.

We eventually decided on a letter fic, like MadFox explained in the fic summary that nobody reads other than checking for fluff and ships… What? You know it's true!

Each chapter will focus on one of the characters of the Wright Anything Agency: Phoenix, Apollo, Athena and Trucy, in that order. The first letters of the chapters will eventually spell a word, but _what_ it is, I can't tell you! (MadFox: Wow Can. So sneaky XD)

Well, that's enough rambling, it's about time we get into the story itself, ahaha. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's the culmination of all of our efforts - it couldn't have turned out half as well without all the rest of our co-writers.

- CanHalfEmpty

* * *

**T~**Treat

It had all started after _that_ trial, after Athena's acquittal. Everyone seemed happy for the first time in a long while. Athena and Trucy were elated, and Apollo hadn't laughed this hard since Clay's death.

Once we had made our way out of the courtroom, a familiar face made his way to us in midst of all the ruckus.

"There's quite a bit of a commotion out here, ja?" Apollo raised his eyebrows, evidently not expecting to meet him there.

"Prosecutor Gavin? Um... how long have you been here?" He asked, his voice cracking in surprise.

"Not even a minute. One of my trials just ended."

"Oooh, did you win?" Trucy asked, a grin on her face. I could hear my protégé mumble, and the prosecutor continued.

"Ja. That man was a killer, no doubt about it. It feels good to prosecute a guilty person once in a while, ja?" he replied. Upon hearing that, I managed to catch a faint smirk on Apollo's typically stoic face. "I would assume that you won your trial as well?"

"Ja!" Athena replied enthusiastically. "I was the defendant, actually..." she added sheepishly. Klavier blinked.

"Was the detective in charge of the investigation quite sane?" I couldn't help but smile at the prosecutor's apparent faith in Athena.

"Nein!" Athena laughed. "He was actually the murderer."

The comment led the prosecutor to raise his eyebrows. "Herr Fulbright?"

"Ja." She repeated cheerfully. _Athena. Your German is only encouraging him. Please stop, I'm begging you_. One look at Apollo convinced me that he was thinking along the same lines.

"Hmph. His song always seemed a bit too sweet to me," he mused. I understood what he meant, and Apollo nodded his head in recognition. Athena, however, seemed a bit lost. _I suppose she has a bit more to learn._ I watched as she smiled, Widget flashing a bright green around her neck, despite all that had happened. _Or maybe we should be learning from her. We've all been through dark times, but she's the only one I've ever seen shining brighter than she was before she went in._

"So, Daddy, you're taking us out to noodles, right?" Trucy asked with a grin, interrupting my train of thought.

"Yep. It's a tradition," Apollo answered, in spite of my hasty objections, which nobody had cared for. _Paying for everyone isn't part of the tradition, is it?!_

"I'm a bit hungry, ja? Perhaps I could join you," Klavier said.

"I don't know if you could handle it, Prosecutor Gavin. They're some pretty insane noodles." _Athena. Stop. You're only making him more determined._ Her grin told me that was the point.

"Yeah, don't famous rock stars go out for dinner every night?" Apollo teased. "You probably couldn't handle normal people food."

"Nein, I don't have that kind of time. It's not uncommon for me to eat microwaveable dinners."

"They must be pretty luxurious microwaveable dinners." Apollo laughed. Klavier shook his head with a smirk.

"Sorry, Prosecutor Gavin, but no matter how hard you try to act like a normal human being, you'll never be one," Athena added. Apollo rolled his eyes.

"Have you even listened to his music?"

"...I think I heard it on an elevator once." Everyone laughed, Apollo especially. Klavier looked at him with an amused grin.

"Herr Forehead, you hadn't heard of my band until you met the lead singer face to face, ja? Don't make fun of the Fraulein," he replied, snapping his fingers to the tune he was probably humming inside his head. Apollo merely rolled his eyes.

"You know that wasn't the point of my argument," he grumbled, but nobody seemed to notice that he'd said anything.

"Really, though, you should totally come with us!" Trucy said with a grin, and the musician nodded casually. For a moment, everyone was quiet. Finally, an awkward cough caused everyone to turn and look at the two prosecutors standing at the edge of the group, unsure whether to stay or leave.

Edgeworth adjusted his glasses. "... Wright, I suppose you want me to come with you as well, if I'm not mistaken." _That depends. Are you paying?_

"Of course!" Trucy confirmed. "And you too, Mr. Blackquill!" _Trucy, the more people you invite, the less magic stuff I can buy you for your birthday._

"Hmph. Very well, I will join you. I haven't eaten noodles for a long time, and I'm sure Taka would enjoy some as well." Simon said, stroking his precious bird.

"We should hurry up! Eldoon's closes at ten!" Athena called.

"Right. Eldoon has never been one to serve the night crowd," I added, steeling myself for the madness that was sure to come.

~O~

"Wright," Edgeworth blurted out uncharacteristically as we approached the familiar cart. It was stopped, indicating that Eldoon already had a customer. "You might want to look at who's ahead."

"Huh?" was all that I could let out before an all-too-familiar face tackled me in a painfully tight hug.

"Niiick! Edgeeeeey!" the man wailed as Edgeworth and I both sighed in unison.

"When something smells…" I muttered under my breath. Out of all the people I could have met at the noodle stand, it just _had_ to be Larry.

"Boss? Who's this?" Athena asked.

"... He's an ... _acquaintance_ of mine." I eventually replied, unable to summarize Larry in a few words. "Ignore him, Athena. It'll be for the best," I added, cringing as he released the hug and inspected my female companions.

"Oooh, Nick, still managing to keep so many chicks around you all the time?" _I rest my case._

"Larry…" I hissed. _You haven't changed one bit…_ With complete disregard for my warning, he approached Athena with his usual cocky smirk.

"Hey, cutie! So what's the deal between you and-" He was quickly cut off by a faceful of hawk. Although I tried to mask my relief, I was more than happy that we didn't have to hear the end of that.

"Prosecutor Blackquill, I was under the impression we had agreed that your hawk would refrain from assaulting people." Edgeworth muttered dryly, although I could sense the same relief in his voice. His annoyed gaze turned to Larry.

"E-Edgey! Quit staring at me like that!" The prosecutor's eyebrows had furrowed even more than usual in sheer speechlessness - it almost looked as if he was glaring holes straight through Larry's head.

"Boss, just who _is_ he?" Athena repeated her question, half amused and half confused.

"... It's kind of a long story… He's an _acquaintance_-"

"C'mon, Nick!" He interrupted. "I thought we were friends! Me and Edgey _did_ stand up and prosecute you back when you got accused for stealing panties and everyone was being mean to you, don't you remember?! We even got you proved innocent! That's how we all became best friends!"

I stared at Larry in disbelief. Edgeworth's mouth began to twitch, probably due to either Larry's lack of grammar or common sense.

_You could've at least gotten the details right… _I thought in exasperation. A quick look towards the prosecutor told me that we were thinking along the same lines.

"Larry, your complete disregard for logic is giving me a migraine," Edgeworth eventually said with an audible groan.

"Edgey…" Our frie- er, _acquaintance_ was in tears. "**How can you be so mean to me?!** We've been friends for so long, and _this_ is how you treat me? No wonder you don't have a girlfriend yet!"

I sighed. _Larry… It's no wonder that girls run away at the sight of you. _

Meanwhile, it appeared that Apollo shared the same sentiments, his face displaying a mix of bafflement and sheer disturbance in response to the recent turn of events.

"I think his mood swings gave Widget a heart attack," Athena commented, observing the wildly strobing screen of Widget.

"I think he's going to give me a heart attack, too…" Apollo mumbled. _Some might say that meeting new people can change you for the better, _I mused to myself. _Meeting Larry simply makes you lose your faith in humanity._

As I looked on in horror, Larry sidled up to Apollo, wiggling his eyebrows in what appeared to be an attempt at suaveness.

"Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" said Larry with a cocky grin.

Apollo blinked. Apollo blinked again.

I blinked. In utter exasperation, I couldn't think of anything in response except to slap my forehead. _This is a new low, even for you, Larry…_

"Uh, I-I hate to say this," Apollo stammered, "but I'm straight."

Larry's eyes lit up with joy. "Straight? You're straight? So am I! We have so much in common!"

The entire party suddenly crawled into a silence deader than Larry's brain cells.

"What? Are you all straight too?!"

Edgeworth let out a sigh long enough to rival Starbuck's. "There are so many things wrong with this conversation that attempting to correct them would be pointless."

Poor Apollo was blushing madly now, and even Athena seemed a bit uncomfortable.

_Larry had better be paying for his own noodles._

~O~

The only one who seemed unfazed by the recent turn of events was Trucy- although that didn't surprise me one bit. We finally reached Eldoon's Noodles, and Trucy ran up to Eldoon in delight.

"Hi, Guy!" she said with a grin.

"You brought a whole crowd with you this time, didn't you?" He examined the group with satisfaction. "You all want noodles, huh?"

"Yep! And make sure Polly's is extra salty, becau-"

"**Objection!** Don't… Err… Don't question Eldoon's sense of taste. I'm sure he puts in the perfect amount of salt already," Apollo interrupted sheepishly.

"Don't be silly, boy! The salt's what makes these here noodles what they are! I'll add some extra salt for a dollar."_ An excuse to pay more? Perfect, just what I needed._

"That's not necessary, Mr. Eldoon. I'm fine with the normal amount of salt," Apollo replied, trying to weasel himself out of a certain two-bowl death.

"Aww, Apollo, don't be a wimp!" Athena called, no doubt having caught onto his intentions.

"I'm not being a wimp, it's just that today's trial already raised my blood pressure enough for one lifetime!" he complained.

"You know, Pollo's Spanish for chicken…" Athena replied with a smirk.

"I'd like to see you have extra salt in _your_ bowl, then!" Apollo retorted.

"All right! Make my noodles extra salty, too!" Athena told Eldoon. _That's 2 dollars already..._

"Hey! I really can eat it, I just thought it was a bad idea."

"Prove it, Pollo," she mocked.

"I want extra extra salt, Mr. Eldoon." Apollo ordered, a dangerous glint in his eye. _Looks like my wallet isn't the only thing dying today._

"That'll be an extra dollar," he replied nonchalantly.

"I want extra extra _extra_ salt!" Athena called. _If two bowls could kill a man before, I don't want to see how this plays out._

"Athena. We got you off the hook so that you wouldn't have to die," I reminded her, admittedly in no small part to conserve what little was left of my wallet.

"But I've got a hollow leg! I'll be fine!" she replied. I only raised my eyebrows, knowing it was a lost cause.

"All right, Mr. Eldoon. I'll match her in terms of salt. We'll see who can have more," Apollo confirmed. His hasty tone told me that he didn't want to raise the salt content any more, however.

"All right, there you are!" He placed two bowls on the counter. They looked as if they were filled with ice, but closer inspection revealed that the ice cubes were, in fact, pure salt. Apollo's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

Thankfully, everyone else got their bowls without further emptying my wallet - other than Trucy. "Uh, I think I'll have extra salty, too. Not extra extra extra, but just extra. You know, just to be sure it's salty!" Eldoon was happy to oblige, and I groaned. _The whole Agency is out to get me, isn't it?_

I picked up the bill, and I had to restrain myself from fainting._ 71 dollars in noodles?! This is almost as bad as when I paid for that feast at Gatewater Hotel!_

Once again, Trucy didn't seem to care. "There's nothing better than a good bowl of salty noodles!" she exclaimed in delight. _At least she's enjoying herself. _She shoveled a fork in her mouth, and winced. "That's pretty salty."

"Why did you order extra salty, then?!" Apollo exclaimed.

"I wanted to make sure it would be salty!"

"It's Eldoon's! Of course it's going to be salty!"

"You can never be too sure," she replied with a wink. Apollo let out an exasperated sigh.

Everyone else was savouring the salty noodles peacefully… well, maybe not _everyone_. Neither Apollo or Athena had bothered to touch their noodles yet. Edgeworth glared at Larry as he slurped up his noodles noisily, his own bowl untouched. _It's almost as if he just wanted to make a dent on my wallet on purpose._

"So, are you guys ready?" Trucy asked.

"Ready for what?" Apollo looked at her strangely.

"You haven't eaten your noodles yet, duh!"

"I'm getting mentally prepared," Apollo complained.

"Oh, I was waiting for you! You know, I didn't want to start before you did," Athena retorted.

"You've had enough mental preparation, Polly," Trucy complained. "On your marks, get set, **go**!"

Apollo took a single noodle out of his bowl and began to eat it slowly, a disgruntled look on his face. Athena, on the other hand, took the whole bowl and began to slurp it up, shoveling noodles in her mouth with no hesitation. She dropped her fork, her face puckering and tears welling in her eyes.

"You okay, Athena?" Apollo said, his voice dry and raspy. I looked at him with concern. _He only had one noodle, and he's doing this bad? _I turned to look at Athena. She grabbed her stomach, tears flowing from her eyes. She leaned over and began to puke. Apollo's eyes widened, and he rushed over with a couple of napkins.

"Well, I guess Polly wins," Trucy finally commented, interrupting the silence. "Mr. Eldoon, do you have any water that's not salty?"

"I sure do. It'll be two dollars each." I cringed. _Why do I frequent this place, again?_

"Daddy, do you have six dollars?"

"Six?" Bottling my shock, I tried to retain a calm tone. _Surely, she couldn't mean..._

"I want some too," she innocently replied. Heaving a sigh, I forked over a ten dollar bill. "Thanks, Daddy!" she came back holding five bottles of water. She placed four on the table, and proceeded to pour one into her bowl, presumably to water it down. Eldoon grimaced as he witnessed the scene, clearly unhappy about the contamination of his culinary masterpiece.

"Trucy, I thought you were just going to get three!" I complained.

"But you gave me ten dollars."

"I wanted the change…"

"Wright, don't hassle her over four dollars. If it's that big of a deal, I'll pay you," Edgeworth said. _Show-off._

Trucy had given the waters to Apollo and Athena. Athena was still crouching over and holding her stomach, and Apollo was making a pathetic attempt at rubbing her back. Athena took the bottle of water and drank a few sips, the grip on her stomach slowly releasing.

"Feeling any better now?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm good. Except for the fact that you beat me, anyway." Athena grinned weakly.

"I didn't really beat you. You sort of beat yourself." Apollo shrugged, still rubbing her back. As they went on, Pearls walked up to them shyly, making sure that the edge of her dress didn't get covered in puke.

"Um… Are you special someones?" She asked.

"Wha- No!" Apollo blushed madly, and Athena burst out laughing.

"Herr Forehead, are you quite certain?" Klavier laughed.

"...She's still just my friend, I swear!"

"I believe that the last time you described her it was as a 'co-worker', ja?"

"Nah, there's another girl he likes," Athena laughed. If Apollo's face wasn't red before, it was now.

"Who do you think I like?!" He stared at her in disbelief.

"It's pretty obvious," Athena mused.

"Even I can tell," I agreed.

"Tell me!" Pearls smiled eagerly.

"But he's straight! You love me, don't you?" Larry interrupted us. Apollo blushed further.

"Can you all stop probing into my non-existent love life?!" Apollo huffed.

"Ach, don't reject him so harshly, Herr Forehead. You have to be kind when you deny your love for someone," Klavier chuckled.

"Yeah! You're gonna crush his dreams!" Pearls pulled up one sleeve of her dress in anger.

"I'll bet you know lots about that, don't you, Prosecutor Gavin?" Athena laughed.

"Pollyyyyyy! I know you love meeeee!" Larry whined.

"Only Trucy can call me that!" He paused. "Wait, Trucy can't call me that, either!" Apollo huffed.

"What do you mean, Polly?" Trucy pouted, before bursting out into laughter.

Larry walked up to me "secretively". _I swear, if he tries to make a move on me, Apollo and Athena are going to have a new murder client._

"Nick!" he whispered. "Is it working?"

"What? What's working?"

"Flirting with the lawyer dude to make the hot ginger jealous! Duh!"

"...So that's what you've been up to this whole time?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! Aren't I a genius?" He blushed, the sleeve of his jacket flapping slightly. _That's not how I'd describe it._

"I don't think it's working, to be honest." That was a massive understatement, of course.

"What do you mean?!" _Note: Be more blunt when confronting Larry_.

"Well, first off, Athena doesn't seem interested in you… _at all_."

"First impressions aren't everything, Nick! You gotta believe in me!"

"Larry… You _do_ know she's about fifteen years younger than you, right?"

"C'mon, you know they say age is just a number!" _And prison is just a room…_

"I mean, look at that chick in the blue cape, Nick!" Larry continued, and I winced in disbelief, "She's a _total_ cutie patootie, and I _bet_ she'd look even cuter without the cape and hat!" _Larry… Undressing Trucy..._The next thing I knew, I was choking on my noodles, and Trucy approached me with a bottle. _No, Trucy, don't. You're only going to make things worse._

"See, Daddy? There's no harm in having a few extra water bottles! I never knew you ordered extra salty, too, though…" She remarked, her eyes full of naïve concern. Without a further word or clarification, she grabbed my bowl, took a strand and tasted it.

"Huh, you've tried saltier noodles than that before, Daddy… You're not swallowing without munching, are you?"

"T-Trucy, it's fine," I started. The last thing I needed was a reason to have her around_ him. _ "I just-"

"Hang on…" Larry interrupted, a scarily focused look on his face. _Oh, no, he's thinking - this can't be good. _"NIIICK, YOU DOOOOG! YOU HAD A KID AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?!"

Apollo blinked. "So, first, he hits on me, and then Athena… and now _Trucy_?" he asked, exasperated.

"Don't worry, baby, I've still got the hots for you, too!" Larry grinned, once again flooding Apollo's face with the color he loved so much. _You just _had_ to ask, Apollo..._

"E-edgey, stop looking at me like that!" Larry exclaimed. I turned to Edgeworth, who was glaring more holes in Larry's head.

"Larry… Please use some common sense." He sighed.

"But… c'mon, just _look_ at her!"

"Larry Butz. If I see you within ten feet of my daughter, I **will **kill you," I threatened.

"As much as I'd like to, Wright, I will not help you if you do anything rash." Edgeworth chided. I took a few deep breaths and nodded my head in response. There was a long pause.

"I'll help, if you need a defense attorney." I looked at Apollo, and I got the feeling that he was being completely serious. _I hope he doesn't really think there's going to be a murder here tonight..._

"Come on baby, don't be that way~"

"Get in line, Apollo!" Athena growled.

Larry walked up to Athena and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her eyes widened, and Apollo winced. Next thing I knew, Larry was flying through the air. He landed head-first in the grass, and didn't move. Athena gasped, and ran over to him cautiously. "Oh, he's still breathing."

"...Daddy, do you think he needs water? I've still got some."

"Don't waste it! Er… I mean, I'm sure he'll be fine."

And so, Larry was left passed out at the side of the road as the festivities continued.

~O~

"I wish Mystic Maya was here," Pearls mumbled. I didn't blame her; as much money was spent on her burger cravings, it was fun investigating with her.

"Mystic Maya?" Athena asked. "Who's that?"

_This is going to be bad._ "She's this girl I-"

"She's Mr. Nick's special someone!" Apollo and Athena looked at me with eyebrows raised, while Edgeworth stifled a laugh.

"Boss? With a girlfriend?" Athena asked, bewildered. _Is it that strange to imagine me with a love life?!_

"Maya is just a friend of-"

"Mr. Nick! You love her!" Pearls insisted, determined as ever.

"Pearls…"

"You're a lawyer! Do you have proofs?" she interrupted, bristling with her own wrath. _Do I have proof?_

"Athena. Get out the Mood Matrix," I commanded.

"What about my bracelet?" Apollo asked, clearly not wanting to be outdone.

"I don't think your bracelet counts as proof to Pearls, sorry." Apollo frowned.

"Ok. So, without any interruptions, who is this 'Maya'?" Athena asked.

"Maya is just a friend that I've had for… What, ten years now? Something like that. She was my assistant back when I was a brand new lawyer."

"... Huh." Athena looked at the screen, tapping her earring with her finger.

"What is it?" I asked. _I don't really have a good feeling about this..._

"Well, you have a lot of joy when you're thinking of her. I kinda forgot that it's difficult to tell the difference between love and friendship on Widget."

"My bracelet could've worked better," Apollo grumbled. _He has a point, I have to admit..._

"See, Mr. Nick? You could love her, and you do!" Pearls concluded.

"Argh! What kind of guy likes a girl for ten years and doesn't make a move?"

"That sounds exactly like something you'd do," Apollo laughed. _Says the one who's had a cute girl drooling all over him for months now and hasn't done a thing… _One look at Athena told me that she was thinking about the same.

"Wright?" Edgeworth asked. "I think I've had enough for the night. I'm quite exhausted." He had a touch of - _...sympathy?!_ - in his eyes, and I could tell it was his own way of changing the topic for my benefit. _That makes up for the untouched bowl, I suppose..._

"Aww! Well, it was fun having you here!" Athena called. I nodded.

"I'll see you later then, Wright." Edgeworth nodded and turned to walk down the street.

"I should return home as well, ja?" Klavier added.

"Wouldn't want to miss out on your beauty sleep," Apollo retorted with a smirk.

"Nein. You could use more of it yourself," he chuckled. I tried to stifle a laugh, but still got a glare from Apollo.

"I get plenty of sleep, thank you very much," Apollo said.

Trucy coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like "Three hours tops." Klavier laughed and walked down the street, vanishing into the darkness.

"So, what do we do after this?" Athena asked. _Go home and start a Gumshoe diet until my wallet fills itself up again. _"Boss, what's wrong?" she added.

"Ah, it's nothing, really." _My wallet, actually._

Athena gave me a skeptical look. "Okay, whatever you say…"

"Mr. Wright, are you sure?" Apollo said, rubbing his bracelet.

"Wright-dono doesn't get a large check in the mail this week," Blackquill commented.

"P-prosecutor Blackquill?! I forgot you were still here!" Apollo gasped.

"Did you think I went home?" Blackquill snickered.

"Why wouldn't you?" Trucy asked, oblivious... then it hit her. "Oh! You just got out of jail!"

"Oh, congratulations, dude!" Larry said, patting the prosecutor on the back. Everyone jumped. "I've been there before, it'll get better!"

Blackquill stared at Larry, a look of skepticism written on his face. Apollo raised an eyebrow looking at me. _You don't want to know, Apollo. _There was a thirty second pause as we looked around at each other awkwardly, all wondering when the heck he woke up. Athena cleared her throat.

"Anyway… Simon, do you want to stay over at my house for the night? I know you'll probably stay at Aura's house, but I'm guessing that's easier said than done, huh?" Athena asked.

"I appreciate the offer. Yes, I'd like that."

"Ooh, can I keep Taka for the night?" Trucy pleaded as Apollo shook his head in response, waving his arms overdramatically.

"I'm afraid that Taka needs special care, Magic-dono."

"Aww." she pouted.

"Well, I think we should get going, if that's alright with you," Athena said. "It's been a really long day."

"Yeah, with the whole jail experience and all," Apollo added.

"Says the only person who _hasn't_been in jail," Athena said.

"Hey, Pearls hasn't gone to jail, and neither has Trucy!" Apollo objected.

"Yeah, but you're old," Trucy said. "You've got to get the whole jail experience!" _If Apollo's old, what am I?!_

"A blade is only sharpened under pressure," Blackquill agreed.

"You don't _really _want me to go to jail, do you?!

Athena laughed. "Come on, we should get going."

"Waaaaait!" Larry ran up to her. "I didn't even get your nuumbeeerrr!"

"I thought you were chasing after Apollo," she laughed, glancing at the blushing lawyer.

"I only did it because I loved you!" Larry wailed. _For once, I know that makes sense, in a weird, twisted way._

"Come, Cykes-dono. We mustn't linger around such incompetence any longer." Larry chased after them, only to come face to face with a hawk for the second time that night. Larry came back again, his spirits dampened.

"Athena's in good hands," Apollo commented.

"He's scary, but nice," Pearls agreed.

"Oh hey, Trucy-woosy! You're still here!" Larry sang, with a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"Oh, um, hello there." Trucy responded, stunned. _Wow, she could take Dr. Hotti's "examinations", but even she can't take Larry._

"Larry..." I growled.

"N-Nick… after all we've been through…" His eyes began welling up with tears.

"_Larry_._" _

"Fine! I'll just go somewhere else and look for another girl as perfect as her! Even though that'll never happen!" He ran off sobbing, leaving a half finished bowl of noodles and his bill. _Great. Though I'd rather pay for his noodles than let Trucy be corrupted by him. _

"Wait!" Trucy sprinted after him.

"Trucy…!" I growled. She looked back at me and winked. _What on earth is she up to?! _

"You need a good-bye hug, Mr. Larry." she insisted, catching him by surprise.

"R-really?" Trucy wrapped her arms around his waist, and the man grinned. When she let go, he skipped off joyfully. She walked back to me triumphantly.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I just got a little souvenir to remember him by." She held up his wallet, and I laughed. _Part of me feels bad for him, but… _She began flipping through it. "Aww, he's only got twenty bucks."

"I think he'd pay twenty bucks for a hug," I replied. Trucy snickered. I looked at Larry's bill- eight dollars for a freaking bowl of noodles. I handed Eldoon the twenty, and he gave me back 12 precious dollars. _Gotta love my daughter. _Eldoon began dragging his cart away, and Trucy whispered something to Apollo, before both of them burst out laughing. I shook my head and turned to the last person standing.

"So Pearls, are you coming home with us again?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. Is that okay, Mr. Nick?"

"Yay, another sleepover!" Trucy called. _And just when I was hoping nobody would hear my sniffling over my wallet tonight._

"You have to actually sleep this time, girls."

"But that's the point of a sleepover! Sleep is over!" Trucy whined.

"Not when you're having sleepovers for a week straight," I warned. I looked over at Apollo.

"Good luck with those two," he said. "I'm going home."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See you then."

_And 65 precious dollars were lost that day…_

I reached into my pocket and sighed. I felt something inside, and pulled out a small envelope.

_**Wright-dono,**_

_**Thank you for everything you've done today. I'll give you your legal payment for Athena's defense later, but I wanted to relieve a bit of stress from you after today's events. **_

_**~Prosecutor Blackquill**_

Attached were two bills - a $50, and a $20. I smiled. _The Twisted Samurai has saved the Neo Olde Wright Anything Agency once again._

* * *

_**A/N: (CanHalfEmpty) About the price, we decided that each bowl costs $8, making Phoenix's total bill $(8²) + (6 + 1) + (10 - 4) - (20 - 8) - in other words, $[(9 * 8) - 7]; 72-7=65. Thank you, and good night.**_

_**A/N: (MadFox) Me and Can spent a solid hour debating this, just in case any of you actually cared.  
Shenanigans happen when you co-write. Here are my favorite quotes so far:**_

_**(Can's rough draft)**_

"_**ohno" aploo sed "clay ded wat do"**_

_**feenic laffd "how bout noodlz"**_

_**truuci laffd 2 "yeh noodlz r cul"**_

_**eggie frawn "no wii wach stel smuarri it best shoe"**_

_**en so dey wach sleet saumurai en dey laff de END**_

"_**...Some days I wonder if we have actual lives." - Aceredshirt**_

**Try and picture Kristoph snuggling for a moment. It does not work.-Aceredshirt**

_"Also this means that this is going to be 69 dollars, now…" - CanHalfEmpty_

_"..."_

_"LOWER SOMETHING" - MadFox_

_- The Conversation That Led Us Into Debating Phoenix's Total Bill Like Obsessed Nerds -_


	2. Hopeless

Hey, this is aceredshirt13, one of the (apparently quotable) co-authors of this fanfic. I'm in charge of the author's note this time around. You know how the last one was all humor and stuff? You know how the genre said Humor/Family? Welp, heh heh, nope. Feels will rain down upon you. Take it like a man.

~O~

**H~ Hopeless**

**POV: Apollo Justice**

Finally giving into my exhaustion, I collapsed onto my bed. As I watched the shadows dance on the ceiling, I couldn't help but heave a sigh.

Smiles only last so long when there's no real happiness behind them, after all.

I didn't want anyone to worry about me… I wanted to be fine, just as I always said. The last thing the cheerful atmosphere needed was to be dimmed by my bitter attitude. I closed my eyes, but my mind refused to be coerced into the heavy, sticky feeling of sleep. Instead, it wanted to keep racing, to remind me of all the things I'd tried so hard to forget.

My shoulder felt uncomfortable, so I rolled over. Then my neck felt awkward, so I shimmied around a bit more.

_And __**this**__ is why I don't get any of Gavin's beauty sleep._

I stood up and began pacing around the room. I really wanted to do a Chords of Steel workout, but it was about midnight, and I doubted my neighbors upstairs would approve. With no other option, I slunk back into bed, hoping the waves of sleep would encompass me.

They didn't.

The first thing I thought of doing was to count sheep, like everyone would suggest… Watching them fly into a furnace and get incinerated by its flames didn't really help, though. _How does this even _work_ for people?_

I gave up and leaned against the headboard, switching the light on. Opening a drawer on my nightstand, I pulled out my much-loved journal and flipped to an empty page. Staring at the blank piece of paper, I didn't bother taking out a pen- there were no words that I could write in order to express how I felt_._ _Maybe I'd feel better if I read through some good memories. _

I turned back to the beginning of the book, wondering where to begin reading. Memories that should have been good ones - me and Clay at the beach, me and Clay watching Doctor Who, Clay breaking his nose for the seventeenth time - were now tinted with tragedy, and reading them brought back everything I hoped - and failed - to push away.

Turning the pages towards the beginning, I read through some accounts of the past, avoiding _his_ name if at all possible.

**...I'm sorry****.**** I told myself again and again I wouldn't, but I ended up going to the Wright and Co. Law Offices when Mr. Wright called saying it was an emergency... or the Wright Anything Agency, as it's called now. (What kind of a name is that, anyway?) Just earlier today it had been a talent agency, but they had to expand it to include me - I feel**_** so**_**honored. I ended up getting a job, I guess - I even got a case on my first day… I think. Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on anymore.**

**It turns out Mr. Wright was hit by a car, but he's okay. Just a sprained ankle, somehow. Trucy, Mr. Wright's daughter, decided to take up the role as my assistant, too. She's a nice girl, even if she's a little… out there. Case in point: She's made me help her find her… magic… panties… (Even thinking about it makes me cringe a little.)**

**As if that's not enough, there was a murder, of all things. So to sum it all up, my new... "boss" got hit by a car, I helped a teenage magician find her underwear, and I've gotten myself caught up in a murder investigation… I guess it's better than job hunting, though.**

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Things sure had changed a lot. I thumbed past a handful of pages and stopped, noticing the case that I'd affectionately named "Turnabout Reclaimed."

**Today Mr. Wright took on his first client in eight years… Without me. I feel a little left out, but I guess I'll get to accompany him soon enough. As for my day "alone", Trucy dragged me along to People Park with her; she apparently wanted to play Frisbee. Of course, it ended up being some magic Frisbee that we had to go looking for once it disappeared. Some kids were really amazed by it, though, so they went chasing all over the park trying to find it. They got to it before us, so now I have to buy Trucy another one… **

**After that, we headed back to the office. Since Mr. Wright and Athena were still off investigating, Trucy insisted that we try and surprise them when they got back. She decided to bake cookies - I'm pretty sure that's the only food she knows how to make - and I got some paperwork done. When the cookies were ready, she stole Athena's wheely chair and sat on the other end of my desk, munching on them (Of course, she ate them all, effectively ruining the surprise).**

**She asked what kind of paperwork I had to do, and I was showing her the different kinds of forms that her dad forces me to fill out. She picked up a few files and started to fill in the blanks; writing the name "Apollo Justice" on a paper 3,000 times was something that Trucy knew how to do pretty well, and it was nice of her to help. It's great having her here during her summer break; I've missed her a lot during the school year. She's always bright and cheerful, even if she can get pretty annoying at times. Oh, hey, it's really late. I guess I'd better go to bed, just in case Athena and Mr. Wright actually need me tomorrow.**

I smiled, and continued to aimlessly flip pages until I stumbled upon an entry about the Themis case.

**Wow… Today was amazing. I'll go back and write about the trial later… I don't have the time right now. Just know that I had to wrap up Athena with sheets, "stab" her in the side, and we ultimately won the case. Juniper was really grateful, of course. It's been a while since I've seen a case end so well for everyone, actually. To celebrate, there was a big concert at the academy. Klavier even performed The Guitar's Serenade, which he swore never to perform again. I definitely enjoyed it… It's the only song I can stand that includes Prosecutor Gavin. Instead of Lamiroir this time, though,it was Juniper that sang. Athena told me that Juniper had a great singing voice but… wow. Let's just say I updated my ringtone, heh. She was wearing Lamiroir's costume, but it had constellations on it in fluorescent paint… She literally shined up there.**

**Juniper's really pretty, though I wouldn't tell Athena that. And she's so kind and sweet, too. Just seeing her face managed to keep me in a good mood during the trial. Every time I was overwhelmed, all I'd have to do was look at Juniper and I'd remember that everything was going to be just fine. I don't think it worked for Athena, though… Widget was lit up like fireworks the whole time.**

**Speaking of exploding emotions, I'd better not talk about Juniper to Athena, or the Mood Matrix would give me away. Why can't I have normal friends that I can lie to?! Clay doesn't have any kind of weird power, but he can still tell when I'm lying (Not that I'm very convincing).**

I winced upon seeing _his_ name, but I continued reading.

**He did ask to talk to me about girls, though. I get the feeling that I'll be confessing my… crush? to him by the end of the week. He's pretty suspicious about the new girl at the agency, and I don't want him trying anything with Athena.**

**Me dating Athena's best friend makes me think of Athena dating my best friend… This isn't a good thought.**

**I don't know why I'm getting so worked up over this. I guess my brain isn't used to pretty, not insane girls. Athena's not too bad, but I wouldn't date her. Even thinking about it feels awkward. Ugh, I'm getting weird mental pictures now. Well, I'm going to go to bed now. See you.**

I smiled a little at the thought of Juniper. From the moment we'd met, she'd always been there for me, even when I'd blamed her best friend for the murder of mine. Granted, she didn't always believe in the truth of my accusations, but she'd believed in _me_ nonetheless. Maybe… she _did _like me in the same way I liked her?

...Or not. After all, what kind of person crushes on someone for months and doesn't make a move?

_Me…_

I wondered what to read next, but drowsiness finally began to overcome me. The thought of Juniper had comforted me; her warm eyes and smile calmed my swirling mind. With what little energy I had left, I switched off the lights and, as thoughts of Juniper vaguely swam in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

~O~

"Apollo! Wake up!"

I groaned. Why couldn't anyone ever let me sleep? I stayed still, hoping that whoever requested my consciousness would just give up and walk away.

"Apollooooooooo!" The determined person shook me, but I still refused to move. Then, I felt a dull pain in my side and I felt myself fall a few feet onto the floor.

"Ow!" I opened my heavy eyes to find my best friend grinning.

"Get up!" he laughed. "Of all the places you could have fallen asleep, too…"

I groaned, my mind still foggy. "Mmm... The museum was closed."

"But really? The robot disassembling table?"

"I haven't investigated with Trucy lately. I missed the excitement of being in danger." I replied with a smirk. Clay chuckled, facepalming with a jacket-covered hand.

"Come on, you were going to watch the take-off, remember?"

"Take off…" I thought for a moment, still feeling drowsy. "Oh! You're leaving today!"

"It took you that long?! How did you get your attorney's badge, again?" he laughed.

"Shut up," I groaned, pushing myself off of the floor.

"Aww, shooting stars! I forgot about my space suit. I should go get it on, huh?"

"That would be a good idea, if you were planning on leaving the atmosphere."

"Uh… Yeah." He looked to the side, and I couldn't help but feel that he was hiding something from me. _I knew it. We've never actually sent astronauts to the moon, it was all a hoax by the government to increase national pride. _"Come on, let's get going!" His cheery grin had returned to his face, and I followed him downstairs into what he called his "dressing room".

"Clay, you aren't seriously going to bring your jacket into space, are you?" I laughed. He wore it everywhere, even in the blazing Japanifornian summers.

"Oh… Heh heh. I kinda forgot that I was wearing it," he replied with a grin. "Do you want to hold onto it for me, just until I'm back?"

"You want me to hold onto your jacket?!" I asked, astounded. Clay didn't let anyone _touch _his jacket, let alone put it on.

"Sure! Just don't break it, okay?" he laughed.

"I won't break your jacket," I retorted grumpily. "Wouldn't it be safer just to leave it in your locker?"

"Uh… Maybe. But… Er…" he stammered. Something was _definitely_ going on here...

"Clay, what's going on?" I asked, in a mixture of confusion and concern.

"N-nothing?" He smiled sheepishly, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're acting like the whole space center is about to blow up or something," I remarked. He looked momentarily startled, but then laughed awkwardly.

"I'm a little nervous at the moment."

"You're fine," I told him with a grin.

"Right! I'M CLAY TERRAN, AND I'M FINE!" We both laughed. He pulled the rest of his space suit on, giving me the heavy helmet to hold.

"You're going to do great out there," I promised. "Your footprints will be on the moon for years."

He grinned. "I'm finally getting my chance to make my mark on a world. Even if it's not technically a planet, it'll feel amazing to be up there, looking down at the Earth with my hero."

Speaking of Clay's fellow astronaut… "Hey… Where is Mr. Starbuck, anyway? Shouldn't he be here, too?"

"He wasn't feeling so good… You know about his space anxiety."

"Oh, right. Did he take his medicine?"

"...Yeah," he eventually replied. I shot him a suspicious glance, and he shot me a sheepish one back.

"Can I go into the lounge with you?" I asked him. "I doubt anyone would mind, since I practically-"

"Sorry, Apollo," he interrupted nervously. "You can wait outside of it, but Cosmos was very clear about not letting anyone go in."

"Clay, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing! I'm **fine**!"

"... Say it louder."

"**I'm Clay Terran, and I'm **_**fine!**_" He grinned at me, and we both laughed. All the same, I couldn't help but wonder about my friend's suspicious behavior.

"All right. I'll walk you over there, though." As we walked, pain started working its way into my head. _I feel like there's something that I'm supposed to tell him… _

"I've got to go. I'll see you soon!" he told me. I gave him a weak smile, and he wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back reluctantly. There were very few moments when I allowed people to touch me, but seeing Clay reach his dreams was one of them. He grinned, and placed his hand on the fingerprint sensor. As I watched him disappear behind the closed door, I rubbed my aching forehead in frustration. I stood there for several minutes, massaging my temples.

_What was I supposed to tell him…?_

**BOOM**

I gasped as a blast of heat hit me so hard it threw me to the ground. All around me was heat… smoke… fire…

**BOOM**

Before I knew what was happening, I was in Boarding Lounge 1, stumbling around in a dizzy haze. Footsteps echoed through the darkness, and I could just make out two figures - Clay and the unconscious Starbuck.

"Clay! You're fine!" I cried in relief. He didn't seem to see me, though. Instead, I watched him gently place Starbuck on the floor, heave a few gasps of exhaustion, and collapse on the floor. He clutched an odd, cylindrical capsule in his arms.

"What do you know, Starbuck? We made it through alive."

And then there was chaos.

A man appeared out of the shadows and crept toward Clay like a lion preparing to pounce. He stood over the exhausted figure of my friend, seeming to enjoy the gasps of surprise and whimpers of terror. Clay attempted to roll away, but the man kicked him, and he let out a moan.

I tried to yell, move, _anything, _but my muscles didn't respond. Clay kicked the man in the knee, and he fell over. I sighed in relief.

The man simply stood back up as if nothing had happened, and let out a cold, vicious chuckle. Clay was shaking in fear, and I attempted to send a message to him telepathically. _Clay! He wants the capsule! Just give it to him! _Judging by the determination in my best friend's eyes, though, there was little anyone could do to change his mind.

Clay tried to kick the man's leg again, but he didn't fall for the same trick twice. This time, he grabbed his foot and twisted it until my friend yelped. _St-stop…_

Clay gripped the capsule tightly in one arm, and the man tried to kick it away, but Clay's grip was too strong. The man growled, and plunged his knife into Clay's chest.

My vision blurred, and my head began to pulse with the intensity of my own heartbeat. Most people would scream and writhe around on the ground in the same scenario, but Clay remained quiet, filling the dark room with an eerie silence. Clay's eyes widened, and he caught my eye, opening his mouth as if trying to say something, but the words didn't come.

All of a sudden, I could hear footsteps coming toward us. The man jumped, and ripped a glove off of Starbuck's motionless body. He used it to open the door to the rocket, and then dashed back over to Clay. He attempted to pull the capsule out of Clay's grasp, but failed.

"You… lose…" I heard my friend grunt weakly. The man made one last attempt to pull the capsule away before sprinting out the closing door without it. My muscles decided to work again, and I sprinted after him out of the lounge, barely making it. The room began… _moving? - _as soon as I tumbled through the door.

The man wore a face I'd seen before… A face usually grinning and laughing and preaching justice. But this face looked as if the soul had been sucked out of it.

I stood face to face with the phantom himself.

"Why-" I tried to continue, but I choked and fell to my knees, shaking and clutching my chest, which suddenly hurt as if I'd been stabbed there, myself.

_We're so close that I can just _feel_ when something's wrong with him!_

"Why did you - why did -"

"He was in my way," the man replied indifferently. He smirked at the tears that dripped out of my eyes. "Your emotions are useless. Look at what they've done to you… You're just a sniveling heap to be thrown aside." He shoved me, and I collided into something - I turned around to find Athena's sleeping body. I jumped to my feet in a desperate attempt to make sure that I hadn't hurt her.

"Caring about people will only hurt you, Apollo. Think of all of the hurt that your 'trust' and your 'feelings' have brought you."

"You're wrong!" I yelled, but the words seemed hollow, as if I doubted them.

His response was controlled, robotic laughter. He held up a gun, pointing it at Athena's head. "Give up."

Athena stared at me with a empty, childish blankness in her eyes.

"You couldn't save Kristoph… You couldn't save Clay…. You can't save me…" Athena's usually cheerful voice was tinged with bitter malice.

"Athena…!"

"_**It's all your fault."**_

**BOOM**

I woke up with a start, tears flowing down my face. _It's okay… It's okay… It was just a dream… _I sat up in my bed, shaking in fear as the tears continued to flow.

I glanced over at my alarm clock… I had to be at work in an hour. _Come on, Apollo… Calm down… You're fine…_

I managed to get out of bed, despite my shaking body. I took a few deep breaths in a pathetic attempt to calm myself down.

I changed into my suit, although my hands were too shaky to button my vest. I hoped I'd be able to fix it before I got to work. I didn't even bother fixing my hair yet.

_Think of Juniper… Think of Juniper..._

_**It's all your fault.**_

~O~

I stepped into the Wright Anything Agency an hour later with a fully buttoned vest, a bright smile, and a few cups of coffee from a nearby cafe.

"Hey, Apollo!" Athena greeted me enthusiastically.

"I brought you all coffee." I replied cheerfully, holding up the cardboard cupholder.

"Thanks, Polly!" Trucy ran up to me with a wide smile.

"Nope, yours is the hot chocolate. I'm not paying to caffeinate you." I laughed.

"Aww."

"It's got extra marshmallows," I added, trying to cheer her up.

"Really?! Thanks, Polly!"

"Oh, Apollo's here," Mr. Wright remarked drowsily. "With coffee?"

"Yep." He began to pick up a cup from the container. "Oh, you don't want that one. That's Athena's. Unless you think jalapenos taste good in a mocha."

"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it!" she responded with a grin, snatching up her cup cheerfully.

"I got you a normal mocha latte," I reassured him, handing him the coffee.

"It's nice to see you feeling better," Mr. Wright remarked, happy to see the cup that was now in his hand.

I smiled. "Yeah. So I'm going to get started on my paperwork… Tell me if you have a more exciting job for me." My boss looked back at me with a smirk, and I interrupted him before he could say some sarcastic comment, as his expression forewarned. "Cleaning the toilet is _not _exciting."

Seeing Mr. Wright chuckle in mock defeat, I sat down at my desk and buried myself in paperwork, my cheerful facade dissolving.

After all, smiles only last so long when there's no real happiness behind them.

~O~

(A/N: To cheer you up from that massive downer of a story, here's a quote wall of co-writing shenanigans. (See? We said there'd be shenanigans!) I hope nobody minds our quote wall. If you don't like it, don't read it. We all think it's pretty hilarious lol.)

MadFox: Can we just include every single freaking genre on the whole list

Red: Wait, even Western?

MadFox: YES

Red: So I pictured Apollo wearing a cowboy hat riding Regent the Tiger off through the desert with nothing but his bracelet, instant Eldoon's noodles, and a double-bar reled shotgun. And then he busts into a saloon and punches everyone in the face to see if they're wearing a mask.

Can: why must i be even shorter than _apollo justice_ D;

Can: Chief, just how many times are you going to use the phrase "I flipped"?!

*Red fixes to "I thumbed past a", but accidentally leaves a space out*

Can: "I thumbed pasta…" Thumbed pasta.

Ace: Yes, because pasta thumbing always puts me to sleep.

MadFox: Imagine waking up to find a crowd of people inside of your apartment uninvited, touching your face. Does nobody else find this creepy?

Misa: I first drew Apollo all macho and half-naked. I died laughing.

Red: And then bikini happened.

(le wild Can appears)

Red: Looking at Buffkinipollo?

Can: ...brb, getting brain bleach

MadFox: Apollo was nestled all snug in his bed, while visions of Juniper danced in his head.

Can: The lag kinda helps. If by help you mean being the most unhelpful guy at school that you approach like 'hey, is next class maths" even though you know he's a total jerk and he's all like "well you'll find out once it _is_ next class BUT YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT" and grabs hold of you and shoves you into a locker and while the teacher wonders where you are and mark you absent you suddenly realize it's actually Science and try to scream but you have no mouth, anyway.

Red: Can, you may want to lay off the cocaine.

When discussing ships:

Red: Apollo/Can

Can: w-w-what WHAT WHAT N-NO

Red: Apollo/Can/MadFox/Manfred

MadFox: NO MANFRED GET OUT I WILL NOT SHARE CAN WITH YOU

Can: ...I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not.

(Later)

MadFox: Can I stop getting accidentally shipped with can? XD

Can: "Accident".

Red: Welp. Looks like destiny brought you together.

Misa: My new OTP

(Later still)

Can: Well, you _do _have the coolest personality of anyone I've ever met-heywaitasecondthatcameoutwrong-

Red: Can stop flirting

MadFox: … The conversation that's going on outside my door, though. Dad: "Do you think (MadFox's brother) would mind having a toilet in his room for a few days? There really is a good place for it in his room… I think we could throw some of his clothes over it and he would never notice." (Later) "Do you think we should clean it first? I know the water's pretty clean, but still…"

Can: They should have cleaned the toilet already! Twice. Each. (Later still)

MadFox: "WHY IS THERE A TOILET IN MY ROOM?!" XD


	3. Electricity

Hello everyone! This is Misa96, one of the authors of this fic and I'm somewhat new to fanfiction, I guess. If there's anything I contributed to this fic so far other than Larry, it's the cover art. XD

Anyways, I'd like to thank you all for being awesome and supporting us!

This chapter will not load you with many feels like the previous one did. And as usual, we have the ever so awesome and random author shenanigans at the end of this chapter. ;D

Oops, I guess I just can't stop rambling. Enjoy reading this chapter, and don't forget to review! :)

~O~

E~ Electricity

POV: Athena Cykes

"The boss has some really weird friends," I remarked once we were out of Larry's range. Taka came flying back, and landed gracefully on Simon's shoulder.

"'Weird' is hardly adequate," he grumbled. "Are we walking to your home?"

"Yeah. It's really close by... I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Cykes-dono."

"Heh, I suppose with all the "walks" you used to take during trials, you're used to it," I teased.

"Hmph. I wouldn't have a say in your emotional deductions; I might as well have taken the opportunity to get some fresh air while I was able."

"Well, you can now!" I exclaimed, a grin weaving its way through my features.

"I must thank you for that, Cykes-dono."

"Aww, there's no need to be so formal with a friend," I replied, smiling up at him.

"Would you prefer that I call you Athena?" he asked. A thread of joy wound through his words, though I wasn't exactly sure why. I guessed that it had something to do with me calling him my friend.

"Yeah."

"Hmph. I'll keep that in mind,_ Cykes-dono_."

I sighed, though Widget was green around my neck. "You're so difficult."

"And you aren't?" He smirked.

"Touché." I laughed, looking back in the direction we'd come. In the warm glow of the streetlights, I could see one person in red standing apart from the others. "I hope Apollo's okay," I mused.

"You feel bad," Simon commented.

"Yeah… I mean, I managed to save my friend… Both of them." I smiled up at him for a moment, grateful that he was at my side. "But Apollo lost the person that meant the most to him. His heart is hurting."

"He's certainly a victim of this ordeal as well," Simon replied. "It seems he is the only one who did not

come out of this trial feeling triumphant."

"Well, I don't think anyone at the Space Center was feeling too great," I responded softly. "Mr. Starbuck was hurt too, and Cosmos was demoted…"

"Aura is somewhat pleased with herself," he pointed out.

"True. But it seems like Clay was a really great guy. I mean, I haven't heard one person say anything bad about him. Not even his murderer! And he was best friends with _Apollo_, and Apollo has no friends!" We both laughed for a second.

"I can see why he wouldn't consider you as a friend," Simon replied with a smirk.

My grin faded. "But I can see why Apollo would be upset. Clay's death hurt everybody…"

"The phantom would not have been caught if Clay hadn't died, however." With a jolt, I realized the implications of what Simon had said.

"And then you would die tomorrow…"

"Not necessarily. Aura would still have taken the captives."

"Well, there is that…"

"The two of us would most likely have been declared innocent, but the phantom would be loose."

"I guess you have a point. I mean, the decisive evidence was there. We just didn't have a possible phantom…"

"Nobody questioned Fool Bright. I don't think anyone thought him capable of anything more strenuous than counting to ten."

"It makes you take a long, hard look at everyone you know, huh?"

"Hmph. Do you question me?"

"Heh, nope. I can hear your heart."

"Couldn't you hear Fool Bright's heart?"

"He could control his emotions, remember? I never had any reason to look into them, especially since they were always annoying and over-the-top."

"Hmph, that's quite the insult, coming from the one who cries every time she speaks to the defendant," he chuckled. "Whose heart do you not find annoying, then?"

I smiled warmly. "I love Trucy's, actually. It sounds sweet, but there's deeper feelings behind it that make her kindness and her joy stand out more. Juniper's is sort of soft and gentle sounding, which is comforting to hear. Apollo's is nice, too."

"What does mine sound like?" he asked, seemingly amused. His voice echoed through my ears as I began to process each current of raw emotion.

"You tuck away your emotions a lot of the time… There was always a twinge of bitterness to it before today. It's gone now," I replied with a grin. "It sounds happier… And more free."

"I have you to thank for that," he replied with a slight smile, which I returned full force.

"It was nothing." After shifting my gaze away from him, I realized where we were. "Oh, we're almost at my house," I commented, completely destroying the moment.

"You say 'house' as if you can afford anything larger than an apartment."

"Home is where the heart is!" I replied with a grin and a peace sign. We stepped into the complex, and I greeted the woman at the front desk with a big smile. "Hello, Claire!"

"Athena." She nodded. "Who's this?"

"Simon Blackquill!"

"...Isn't he a murder convict? What's he doing with you?"

"Not anymore!" I replied cheerfully. "He's my second BF, and he needed somewhere to stay for the night." She raised an eyebrow, but didn't question me further- good old "no questions asked" Claire. I grabbed Simon by the wrists and pulled him down the hall.

"Would you mind explaining what you meant by 'second BF'? I'm afraid that being in jail for seven years does not exactly keep me up to date with the latest colloquial terms." I let go of his hand as we left the lobby.

"Oh! It means you're my second best friend." I grinned. "You're pretty great, but I have to say that Juniper's my first BF."

"What about Justice-dono? I would think that you feel a bit more comfortable with him than you do with me."

"I do care about him, and I would consider him a good friend… But I don't think he feels the same about me," I mused. We turned the corner, coming up to the elevator. I went right in, but Simon hesitated. "Are you coming?"

"I'd rather take the stairs," he admitted.

"I live on the eleventh floor. Are you sure?"

"I've had quite enough of being trapped in small gray rooms."

I nodded. "All right… I'll go with you then."

~O~

"Here, you can have my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch," I decided while rubbing my legs, which burned from the long hike up the stairs.

"I can sleep on the couch. I assure you that it will be much more comfortable than the jail bed I've grown accustomed to."

"Aww, I can't do that to you! You're a guest here."

"Which is why it would not do for me to intrude in your space."

"I'm sleeping on the couch. If you want my bed, take it. If you want the other couch, take it."

"I shall take the couch then," he replied with a smirk.

I groaned. "Argh! You're so difficult!"

"As are you." He snickered, failing to conceal the smirk on his face.

"Maybe Taka can have the bed," I laughed.

"He is sleeping in the courthouse for now."

"Hmm, maybe he'll eat any Phony Phanties that he finds."

"Taka has much more refined tastes," Simon grumbled, seemingly offended. I yawned, and he snickered. "I think it's about your bedtime."

"Heh, I'm not a little girl anymore! I don't have a bedtime!"

"I'm quite aware of that," he replied with a slight smile. "Though I do believe that sleep is in order."

"All right, whatever." I stood up and turned off the lights and crawled onto the couch. I tried to look awake, but really I was pretty tired, so much so that I didn't bother changing. It was surprising how quickly Simon fell asleep- he was snoring after only a minute of darkness. _He must be tired, after all these years._

As much as I enjoyed knowing he was finally getting some sleep, I kind of wanted some too. His snores, though, had gone from a peaceful rumbling to full on grizzly bear. I gave up after a few minutes and returned to my own bed, where the snores were no longer audible, and sleep overtook me almost immediately.

~O~

I woke up bright and early to the sound of my alarm clock. Yawning, I stayed still for a few moments, before I finally swung my legs to the floor and flung open the curtains. It was still dark out, and the moonlight reflected off the grass, slick with rain. I got dressed in a comfy yellow track suit, leaving Widget on my nightstand for the time being. I wouldn't need him where I was going.

When I got to my living room, I started, seeing Simon still out cold on my couch. I'd forgotten that he was there, and the sight of him startled me. I was glad to see that he seemed fine, though he was clutching one of my pillows. _Heh...I guess even the "Twisted Samurai" needs a stuffed animal sometimes._ I giggled to myself as I made my way into the kitchen.

My stomach quickly satisfied for the moment with my favorite cinnamon raisin toast, I slipped out the front door and took a deep breath of the cool, early morning air. _Perfect weather for a jog!_ I took off down the block, slowly at first but eventually building up speed. The wind wove through my hair, playing with the ponytail on the back of my head, and, aside from that, the world was blissfully silent. There were no voices, charged with emotions, that I had to tune out.

That's why I always got up early. Even though my abilities could be useful, especially in court, it got tiring to hear the hidden side of every word. My morning jog was a pleasant break for me, where I could just relax and think.

As I ran through the neighborhood, the sun began to lazily make its way over the horizon. It was beautiful, calm, and still. The perfect dawn.

~O~

When I got back to my apartment, I could tell Simon was up. Not because I'd seen him move, but because just as the elevator door opened, I heard I heard a thump and a loud, "Gah!" When I opened the door, I could see him hunched over in my kitchen, glaring and muttering threats at something on the counter. "If you insist on not cooperating, I can easily rip out your inner workings and put them in the blender." His voice was full of crackling anger, not that I needed my talent to tell.

"What's wrong, Simon?" He jumped, and hit his head on the counter above him.

Rubbing his head in irritation, he growled, "This asinine toaster refuses to operate properly."

"Huh, that's strange. It worked fine this morning." I fiddled with my earring, recalling my breakfast. "Let me take a look."

He stepped back. "I suppose that might be helpful. However, if you cannot find a way to repair this infernal device, it _will_ taste my blade."

"What happened to being a guest and respecting my home?" I said teasingly as I walked over. His response was only another glare.

"I can replace this technological blunder with an appliance that is not sold only as a product of false advertising, if it comes to that."

I rolled my eyes and smiled, turning my attention to the toaster. It seemed normal, so I looked at the cord, expecting to see it frayed or damaged. Instead, it was perfectly intact. I raised my eyebrows.

"Did you really just forget to plug it in?"

Simon gave me a look that could disintegrate kittens, and with a fierce jerk of his hand, jammed the plug into the outlet. Sparks flew in protest, but he ignored them, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Electricity is a… fickle creature indeed."

The curious mixture of anger and humiliation on his face, combined with the thread of embarrassment in his voice, reminded me of a guilty child blaming someone else for eating a cookie that had mysteriously disappeared from the jar. I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing.

"Silence!" Simon's booming command only made it worse, as his face had reddened even more and he looked torn between hiding or hitting something.

"I'm… S-sorry…!" I choked out between laughs. I calmed down to the point where I stopped laughing, but burst into a whole new fit once I saw Simon's cherry-colored face.

"Are you quite finished?" said Simon, looking irked and slightly pouty.

"I'm sorry… It's just the thought of the Twisted Samurai being felled by a _toaster…" _I snickered.

"Electricity is not one of my strengths," he muttered.

"It's just a wave," I pointed out. "All you have to do is point it in the right direction."

"You make it sound simple."

"Plugging in a toaster really isn't all that difficult to understand," I retorted with a smirk.

"It is far more than just that. It involves the movement of energy through various substances via electrons, as well as all the properties and variations of such an action. It is, in fact, quite complex, though it is also quite easy to maneuver… If you are aware of how to operate it." I was pretty sure that he was just grasping for some remnant of his pride at this point. Even so, his explanation made sense, and made me think back on all of my days in the space center.

"You know, all of this reminds me of when I was a kid."

"Oh?"

"Remember how I used to mix up the robots with people? It's because emotions have always been like electricity to me-a current of energy that weaves through every sentence. They're ever present, and very complicated, but pretty easy to influence."

He tilted his head. "Even with your mother's psychology lessons, I'm unsure of what you're referring to. Pray continue, Athena."

I fiddled with my earring. "Well, I suppose I'm taking a little poetic license when I say that I can hear 'the voice of everyone's hearts'. It's more that each word has a… different feeling to it. Your confusion, for example, sounded like a ripple in your voice. And when you were angry, it crackled, like Rice Crispies."

He scoffed. "Hmph. My fury is far more intimidating than a simple breakfast cereal."

I rolled my eyes with a smile. "I'm so sorry that my example _ruined _your reputation. Can I finish, now?" Simon gave a curt nod and a smirk, so I continued. "But that… texture isn't just on the surface of your voice; it's entangled, inseparable from it. It's just there. And I think we both know that even though you don't completely understand emotions, you're pretty good at manipulating them."

"What does that have to do with anything?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"You can tell what people are thinking too. That's how you can change their thoughts, and what they're feeling. You can recognize all those little subtle changes, I know you can," I said.

Simon rubbed his chin, a perceptive smirk gracing his features. "Subtle changes… Such as screaming at the witness stand, throwing various objects, or blushing when the name "Justice" comes up?" We both snickered for a moment. "I suppose I can comprehend these poetic descriptions of yours. I never considered this electrical perspective you seem to have, however."

I brushed my hands through my ponytail. "Aw, well, you know…"

He nodded walking over to the counter where the toaster sat. "I suppose electrical appliances do resemble people's emotions in a sense. Feelings form from within, much like electricity."

"Exactly!" I said, grinning. "The current flows out from a toaster, like the voice in people's hearts. Plus, we all react to the feelings we see in others. That's how mob mentality works; it's actually pretty cool!"

"Even though I do not possess the same mastery of psychology that you have, I would not forget that I have at least some knowledge of the subject. I understand the power of emotional contagions."

I put my hand on my hip, grimacing. "Well, yeah, I knew that…"

He smirked again. "Even so, I must agree that what you say is logical. Though… are you implying that this toaster is the same as Ponco and Clonco?"

I made a peace sign. "Yeah! All of them are the same as people!"

"I see, so toasters are human," Simon said.

"Yes! Toasters are human! ...Wait, what?" My face fell as my head caught up with my mouth. I stamped my foot in protest. "Simon!"

The prosecutor laughed, slapping his hand against the counter. "Hahahahaha! Ah, Athena, one must never let down their guard in the face of being told they're right."

I huffed and crossed my arms. The irritation inside me crackled, sounding like sparks of electricity from a broken wire. I glared at the laughing prosecutor in front of me, pouting.

Suddenly, a bark of his laughter resonated in my ears. The waves of emotion echoed, pulsating like a heartbeat. It sounded different all of sudden. There had always been faint emptiness in it, a bitter discord that didn't match up; this time though, I couldn't hear it. All I could hear was the calm, warm wave of energy of genuine amusement.

Simon was happy.

* * *

Quote wall: (These are getting even longer, so if they bother you go ahead and skip them.)

Red: Bada-bing, bada-boom. That would be your skull.

Misa: How come Apollo has bigger boobs than Trucy and Pearl combined in the official DD poster?  
Red: Clearly Apollo has pecs.

We created an AU where all the AA characters are food. Pick your favorite name ;)  
Red:Zucchini Gramarye, Wocky Kaletaki, Miles Eggplant, Kalevier Gavin, Pumper Nickles, Kalestoph Gavin, Miles Eggroll, MANWICH VON KARMA, Gourdot, Lauren Poppyseeds, Lisa Bagel, Glen Egg, Maca Roni (instead of Mack Rell, though technically that works too), Calisto Stew, Salmon Blackbeans  
MadFox: Avocado Justice, Cake Caraway (the great Tiramisu), Leafa Basil, Wesley Potsticker, Simon Blackpepper, Cane's Bullard, Phoenix Rice, HerMAN CRAB, Spark Brusselsprouts, Lance Oregano, Stroganoff Gavin

Red: Why do all this game's friendships and canon relationships all end in death?!  
Lumos: The Anything Agency Family BETTER not end in death!  
Red: Please don't kill anyone else, phantom. You already crushed the souls of Apollo, Aura, and Gumshoe. You're done. Though, technically, there's always the fact that the murders happen in the future, so once America reestablishes their space program, I'm going to LA with a baseball bat in 2016.  
Lumos: Sounds like a good plan. Because the Phantom could easily be defeated with a baseball bat. ;D  
Red: With a legion of similarly armed fangirls. ...Though, we may end up in prison for assault considering that we'll have to get past security.  
Lumos: I suppose that is kind of a problem.  
Red: Well, maybe when a bunch of teenagers take down a global criminal, they might change their minds.  
Red: I think I watch too much anime.

The vast majority of these quotes are just us making fun of Can, soooo… I gathered them in one spot XD

Misa: CAN YOU USELESS PIECE OF TIN. I'm gonna kill him.  
Red: With a cheese grater.  
(Later)  
Red: I really need to wipe off all the blood on my cheese grater. Or I can't put cheese on my pasta.  
MadFox: *sigh* this is why you use a can opener instead of a cheese grater!  
Red: Well, the label does say that you should open cans before you microwave them.  
MadFox: But I wouldn't object to seeing Can in a microwave before he's been opened  
Red: He'll probably explode.  
MadFox: Exactly :3  
Red: You know, I'm just waiting for Can to come on here and call the police.  
MadFox: But he's dead. I mean he's sleeping.  
Red: But if Maya channels him… Maybe that's why he's never on.  
Misa: He'll confess to MadFox and then smooch her.  
MadFox: ...And everything ends with the CanFox ship.

Lumos: I apparently just don't get jokes.  
Can: Sure better than your entire life being one at least, wouldn't you say?  
Lumos: Oh, your entire life isn't a joke.  
Lumos: Just your entire life on this doc.  
Can: Well, I didn't mean to imply that my life w- You got me there.

MadFox: CAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN LET US LOVE YOU  
Lumos: Is this supporting our Can/MadFox/Apollo ship? ;)  
Red: Don't forget Manfred.  
Lumos: But he's more emotionless than Edgeworth.  
Red: Only the combined awkwardness of Apollo and Can, along with the weirdness of MadFox, can melt Manfred's icy heart.  
(Later)  
Red: But… If MadFox is Chief, does that make Can Diego?!  
Lumos: Umm...Pearls can channel Mia for Apollo? (Because Can is way too Apolloish to be Godot. ;D)  
Red: So I just tried to picture Miapollo as a pairing.  
Lumos: Or Manfred could suddenly become a girl and a spirit channeler and then HE could channel Mia and then MadFox/Can/Apollo/Manfred would work. ;D  
Red: New OTP.  
Can: …*blink* I… I'm just gonna back away now.  
(later)  
Can: I'm not confident enough to actually do Athena.  
Can: ...T-that came out wrong *NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY WRITE ATHENA  
Lumos: Can...I don't know how to react to that. (Adds it to the quote wall)  
Can: ...My image doesn't need to go down even more than it already has.  
Lumos: But it could be Can/MadFox/Apollo/Manfred/Athena shipping. ;D  
Can: ...How would that even work in bed- Actually don't answer that question.  
Lumos: You didn't have to ask it.  
Can: I know I didn't... _

Can: ...What is my life- Why is my life…  
MadFox: We don't have lives, remember?  
Misa: But Ace Attorney is our life! D:


	4. Doubt

Hey, everyone! Lumos314 here! :D Those of you who know me know that I like to talk. So be prepared for a longer note today, to pair with our relatively quickly updated chapter (Compared to my stories, at least.). ;D Now that MadFox isn't taking week long vacations, we can actually get work done in a reasonable amount of time. ;) Plus the fact that I won't be doing an author's note for a few chapters, and it took me forever to perfect this one.

I also like to be technical. As of last chapter, all order fell apart and I ended up writing. So I'm not just an editor anymore, WHOOP! (Quoting AA is also pretty fun. ;D)

This chapter has been REALLY difficult. We basically took all the feels from chapter two and multiplied them by a million. It was hard to write, hard to edit, and will prob'ly be hard to read. Be prepared for angst and deep set but inaccurate self-images.

Oh, and I realize that it looks like all I do on here is tease MadFox and Can and say terrible things that end up being funny. I really do help write, though! I swear! I can show you a screenshot if need be… (Oh, there I go again. You'll get it later.)

Anyway, after my terribly long ramble, enjoy the chapter! (Well, you won't, but...You get the idea. ;D)

(And if anyone catches the Layton reference...Well...Emmy… *tear*)

~O~

D~ Doubt

POV: Trucy Wright

I took the lid off my hot chocolate as Athena sat down at her desk, jalapeno coffee in hand. Apollo was already knee deep in paperwork, his cheerful grin dissolving into a look of sheer seriousness. Convinced he was trying to hide from us, I leaned over to my daddy. "Someone doesn't want to clean the toilet," I whispered with a grin. I settled back down into my chair and took a sip. It was warm, and the melting whipped cream gave me a little mustache above my lip.

Daddy wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Hahaha! He's still doing it. Twice." I grinned, but with a quick flick of his hand, he swiped the cream off my face.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!" I huffed, hands on my hips.

"You should know better than to leave it in my reach." He smiled, and took a sip of his own drink before changing gears. "Trucy, it looks like we all have paperwork this morning. Do you remember what that means?"

"Homework," I grumbled. "But I don't have that much, and it's the first _real _day of Winter Break!"

"Didn't it start yesterday?"

"Well, yeah, but it's kinda hard to do anything when you're being held hostage in the Space Center!"

He looked at me skeptically, and let out an exasperated sigh. "You're going to want to get it done now, so that you can enjoy your Christmas presents when you get them. And since we'll all be working, it would be a good time for you to get started, too. But it's your choice."

"I'll do a little bit, I promise." I smiled. "But since I just spent weeks studying for finals and then being locked up, I want to have at least _some_ time to relax."

"Speaking of your exams, how did you do?"

"Hmm… I got an A in everything but Math, which I got a B+ in." Daddy looked at me sympathetically, knowing how hard I'd studied for the final. "But I still got an A for the semester!" I beamed. "Oh, and I don't know my score for my history exam… She said they'd be posted by…" I looked at the clock. "About twenty-three minutes ago."

Athena perked up from her desk. "History exams are the worst! How many questions was it?"

"Oh, it was a paper, actually. A group project that I did on Google Docs. We had to pick a decade and write a presentation about pop culture and major events during that time. It was really exciting, because we got the 2000's, and that's when Daddy decided to become a lawyer!" I grinned, bouncing happily.

She flashed a peace sign. "Fantástico! That sounds like a lot of fun."

"I know! I interviewed Daddy, since he was there for some pretty important stuff. I even got to write a segment about the DL-6 incident!"

"She did a great job," Daddy affirmed, smiling. "You should go and see what grade you got."

"Okay! I'll go and check right now!" I grinned, and dashed upstairs. By the time I was comfortably seated at my small desk, I had already logged on to my laptop and was loading our group's Google Doc. All four of us were on it, and we'd each picked our own color to type in so that our teacher could see who worked on what. I looked at the top of the document to find the message she'd left us.

_**Alexis: 100%**_

_**Alli: 98%**_

_**Megan: 92%**_

_**Trucy: 0%.**_

My stomach flipped. _I worked so hard on this… Why would I get a zero? Oh, my group members probably changed it as a prank._

After what felt like forever, the chat window finally opened and I typed my greeting into the box.

_**Trucy: Hey, guys!**_

Nobody responded, although the site said that my classmates were on.

_**Trucy: Haha, it says I got a zero. Really funny, guys ;)**_

_**Megan: Lol she doesn't know**_

_**Trucy: What don't I know?**_

_**Alexis: That's your actual project grade.**_

_**Trucy: Lol I'm not falling for that. What did I really get? :)**_

_**Alli: It's seriously a zero lol.**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Trucy: Stop it, guys. This isn't funny anymore!**_

_**Alexis: No it's not. We're dead serious.**_

_**Trucy: But there's no way! I worked ten times harder than you!**_

_**Megan: Lol I dunno why. it's not like you need good grades to become a professional idiot. You don't even need to be in high school hahaha**_

_**Alli: Oh, she's probably scared that her dad's gonna get mad at her. Maybe Mr. Lawyer will sue you, Megan XD**_

_**Alexis: Oh no, she might get grounded from doing magic and have to get a social life.**_

_**Trucy: Guys! Seriously, what's going on?!**_

_**Alexis: We recolored your part of the project before Ms. Gided came on. Thanks for the points ;)  
Trucy: You're kidding. You didn't really do that.  
Megan: Lol if you don't believe her email the teacher.  
Trucy: She knows I'm a good student! I wouldn't slack off this much on a final exam!**_

_**Alli: Oh no, I'm sooo scared of Ms. Gided's wrath. It's three against one. Who do you think she'll side with, her straight A students or the gay magician girl?**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Trucy: Seriously! This isn't funny!**_

_**Alli: Lol calm down. Why don't you get some help from that murderer that you're friends with? He can come in with his little Samurai Sword and save the day lolol**_

_**Megan: LMAO**_

_**Alexis: Maybe you do need the points, if you can't even make your problems disappear.**_

I shut the lid to my laptop, trying desperately not to cry. _It's ok, I'll just tell Daddy. _

I ran downstairs, trying to compose myself. When I got there, I saw him just about to leave the office. _I thought he was going to tell me when he left… _"Daddy, wait!" I latched onto his arm, holding him back.

"Trucy, you need to let go. We're defending Susan's father tomorrow, and we have to get investigating." He pulled his arm away and then rubbed my head, knocking off my hat.

"But I need your help!"

"Trucy, it's not the time. You need to work on your homework. I can help you when I get back."

"It's important!"

"Trucy, I love you, but I need to go. Our client could be put on death row for this crime, and he's counting on us to walk into court tomorrow prepared. I know you understand that." His voice was soft as he smiled and walked out the door, but I caught something that froze me in my tracks.

_He scratched his neck when he told me that he loved me._

_He only does that when he's lying. _

I could feel myself going pale. I'd always known that I was annoying; when Apollo joined us, his reactions to me had only confirmed it. Plus, the kids at school never passed up a chance to tell me I was obnoxious. Even at home, I could tell that I'd been a burden to both of my daddies, and when I made them smile I knew it was only temporary. Over the past couple of weeks, though, I'd noticed little things building up. Conversations that would stop abruptly when I walked in the room. Little tells here and there when I teased people or made jokes. It made me suspect that I wasn't always wanted.

But I'd never even dreamed that I was_ that_ worthless.

~O~

I stared at my laptop, the latest chain of emails blurring together as I read them.

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I just looked at my grade on my project, and it says that I got a zero. That can't be correct, can it?**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm sorry, but that's your score. It seems that your group members have done all the work on the project, so I have to account for that in grading.**_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**But I did do part of the project! My group even told me that they recolored my part before you saw it!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm disappointed in you. Your group members are all very good students, and I can't believe that they would try to sabotage your grades like this. Up until now, I thought you were trustworthy, so I'd like to believe you, but the evidence is not in your favor. I'm going to need you to prove to me that you're not just avoiding responsibility for your mistakes.**_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I'm trying! I can screenshot the page, where they told me that they recolored my part. Please, you have to believe me. I'm not lying, I swear!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I am quite aware of the technology of our age. It would be incredibly easy to photoshop a screenshot. So, unfortunately, that does not qualify as evidence against three of my most honest students. You need more definitive proof in order to persuade me. Unless you can find some, you need to work this out on your own. **_

_**Ms. Gided,**_

_**I did the whole part about the DL-6 incident! I interviewed Mr. Edgeworth myself! I could get him to sign a paper saying that I interviewed him! He's the Chief Prosecutor, so he's really trustworthy!**_

_**Trucy,**_

_**I'm afraid that I don't care much for the courts. My brother has served time for false charges. Your family friend is nothing more than a liar in my eyes, Miss Wright. **_

I choked out a sob. _Even my favorite teacher hates me…_ A few tears dropped on my laptop, and I wiped them away with my cape. _What am I supposed to do now? I can't ask Daddy; I don't want to bother him more… maybe Polly will be willing to listen._

I went to the bathroom and washed my face, hoping to erase any traces of tears, before I went downstairs. He was still at his desk, behind his paperwork, and I could hear a few snores.

"Umm… Polly?"

He jolted awake, pulling his head away from his arm. "Wha…" He yawned and turned towards me. As he rubbed his eyes, I noticed they were slightly puffy, and I could guess why. It wasn't exactly the time of year for allergies. "Oh, Trucy."

"Sorry I woke you up…"

"It's fine." His hand twitched - his nervous tell.

"Umm...I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Nope. I was just...resting." There it was, again.

"Oh. Okay." I sat there, decidedly unlike my usual cheery self. I waited for him to notice me, tease me, _something_ besides yawn and glance at his computer. _If he really cares, he'll ask if I'm alright. _But we sat in silence.

"Did you need something?" he finally asked. I waited a few more seconds. _Please, Polly!_

"I, uh… Are you ok?"

"Huh? Me? I'm fine. Why?"

"You look like you were crying."

Apollo jumped. "Oh, uh, my sleeve is only wet because I was asleep. I must've drooled or something." _Huh, his sleeve is wet. I didn't even notice that._

"Your eyes are really puffy."

"I was asleep. Of course my eyes are puffy."

"And I can see your nervous tell."

"Trucy…" Apollo grunted. "Please, leave me alone."

"Polly…"

"You don't understand how I feel right now!"

"Lonely? Upset? Abandoned?" _Because that's exactly how I feel._

He cringed. "Those are just words to you, Trucy. You wouldn't understand."

I forced a grin, doing my best not to cry. "You're right, I'm only a teenage girl." Again, there was a pause. _Come on! I didn't even try to hide my tell…_ "I wouldn't understand at all." I hopped to my feet and bounced up to my room, unable to hold back my tears any longer.

~O~

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" I watched myself bounce in the mirror, trying to look as blithe as possible. I'd been repeating the same action for about ten minutes, but I could still clearly see my tell.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" It was my cheeriest voice, so I'd maybe fool Athena, and I was trying not to think of my secrets to avoid showing Daddy any psyche locks. No matter how hard I tried, though, I just couldn't make my eye stop twitching. It was slight; no one but Polly would ever spot it. But I couldn't risk them knowing how upset I was. _I've already screwed up enough today. If they don't like me already, I'll be even more annoying if I sit around sulking all day. I wouldn't just be useless, I'd be a pain._ I had to have this perfect.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" I only had to control my emotions better. I'd been doing it for so long, I'd thought I was pretty good at it, but today clearly proved me wrong. I was overwhelmed, and hadn't thought before I'd acted. I couldn't make that mistake again, because it was only making Polly's problems worse. He had an analytic psychologist to cheer him up, if he needed support.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" _Stupid eye. Maybe I could wear sunglasses. I could tell Polly that I'm trying to shield my eyes from his shiny forehead. _I found a suitable pair among my stage props and put them on.

"I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" Now that my feelings were sufficiently hidden, I could work on making that phrase come true. _Maybe t__he exam didn't hurt my grade too much. _I looked up my grades on my school's website, waiting anxiously for my scores to pop up.

_**Quarter 1: 323/400  
Quarter 2: 361/400**_

_**Semester exam: 0/200**_

_**Total: 68.4%- D+**_

_I'm not even average._

I took a deep breath. I had to stay positive.

...It didn't work.

_I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm screwed._

~O~

**BZZT BZZT**

I groaned, sitting up in my bed. _I was almost asleep, too…_ I'd decided that taking a nap would be the best way to calm down, but it wasn't working very well.

**BZZT BZZT**

_All right, I'm coming._ I grabbed my phone off the table and checked the message I'd just gotten. It was Daddy. _**We're going to be a while longer...There's been an important new lead. Sorry, Truce.**_

_**It's fine, Daddy. :)**_ It was a lot easier to be alright over text. No tells, emotions, or psyche locks could give me away.

It buzzed again. _**How about we decorate the office when we get back? To make it up to you.**_

_**That sounds great! Thanks! :D**_

_**You're welcome. :) Maybe wrap your presents in the meantime?**_

_**All right. See you soon! :D**_ I sighed, glancing at my closet full of presents. I gave myself another minute before gathering them all on my bed, along with shiny, sky blue wrapping paper and tape.

Christmas wasn't usually a major event at the agency. Daddy told me once that he took one of the most important cases of his career on Christmas Day, and neither Athena or Apollo had much to do with the holiday as a kid (that didn't stop Athena from singing Christmas Carols the week before Thanksgiving, though). Daddy decided that we should get each other something small, since nobody could really afford too much, anyways.

I picked up a long cord of navy, red, and sky blue string, and wondered how to wrap the over-sized friendship bracelet. I'd made it to cover Widget's boring gray cord, and I hoped it would please Athena. It made me happier to know that she would never lie to me- she was as transparent as glass. If she liked my present, it would be clear.

It was nice to see her smile at me without a nervous tic or a strange color from Widget… It always helped me feel like I belonged, even though she didn't talk to me much. I placed the long cord in an empty peanut butter jar and wrapped it in the shiny blue paper, writing Athena's name in sharpie on the top.

For Apollo, I'd made a small scrapbook. It had each of his cases in it, and a few souvenirs. I opened the front page to find an Ace of Spades, a grape juice bottle label, and some photos of those involved in the case. The next page was full of fingerprints, shoe prints, panties, some photos, and an expired Eldoon's coupon. The next page contained, among other things, a Gavinner's CD, signed by the god of rock himself. Flipping through the scrapbook cheered me up, though it reminded me of our previous bitter conversation. I wrapped it solemnly, hoping that I hadn't upset him. _Why did I have to lose control of my emotions?! Conceal, don't feel, put on a show. If I make just one wrong move then everyone will know._

For Daddy, I'd bought a _Dating for Dummies _book as well as _Steel Samurai for Dummies_. Pearls had paid me to include a card that said _**So you can understand your special someone better :)**_, so that was included. Hidden in the pages of the books were various photos of some of his old friends, as well as four five dollar bills that I'd gotten from my show at the Wonder Bar the previous day. (Not that he would ever find them).

I yawned, and looked out my window to see if the sun had fully set. The world was as dark as it could be in the depths of Los Angeles, which wasn't all that dark. Despite this, something glittering in the sky caught my eye. I stood up and walked up to the window for a closer work, and after a moment's inspection, I discovered it wasn't moving. It was a single, shining star. Stars were hard to see in the city, and something about it gave me a twinkle of hope. A childlike surge of superstition rose in me as I remembered how, whenever I could find one as a kid, I would wish on it. I wondered if I was too old to do the same now, but I decided it couldn't hurt. "Please," I whispered. "All I want is to know I belong, that I'm not just a burden for everyone to deal with. I know it'll take a miracle, but I want it more than anything." Even though I knew it probably wouldn't do much, I felt at peace, and ready to tackle the rest of my presents.

I looked at my present pile, which was still rather large… _Now, which one was for Pearls, again?_

~O~

"Hey, Truce! We're back!" I slapped the last piece of tape on Uncle Edgey's present and looked at my pile of fully wrapped gifts proudly.

"Coming, Daddy!" I looked in the mirror one last time, saying, "I'm Trucy Wright, and I'm fine!" before heading downstairs. When I got there, Athena was grabbing the stepladder to climb into our small attic and grab the decorations, and Polly's eyes were looking much better. _Maybe things aren't so bad after all._

"Ack! Athena, watch where you're going with that ladder!" Apollo yelped.

"Oh, sorry Apollo! But it's actually a stepladder." Athena grinned.

"What's the difference?!"

"A stepladder's much more complicated," I commented.

"And much more stable," Daddy added.

"But it's still a ladder, isn't it? I don't think I have to be specific when there's a large metal object two inches from my face," Apollo argued.

"But it's not an ordinary ladder, it's so much better! It's like calling Daddy a lawyer, and putting him in the same class as you!" I retorted.

"Hey!" Apollo scowled. "I mean, both me and Mr. Wright get to Not Guilty verdicts, just like a wooden ladder and a **step**ladder both help you climb. So what's the difference?"

"I'd feel a lot safer climbing a stepladder," Daddy mused.

"It doesn't matter what kind of ladder I climb, I'll still feel afraid of heights," Apollo grumbled.

"Hey guys, I got the box of decorations! Can someone hold them so I can safely climb down the **step**ladder?" Athena called.

"Yeah," Daddy replied. He picked up the large box with little effort and set it down next to our Christmas tree. I opened the lid of the bucket and took out a Steel Samurai ornament. "Here you go, Mr. Charley!"

After putting up a magic hat ornament, a piano ornament that daddy had hit with a hammer to represent his abilities, a ten of hearts card, and several others, the box was left empty.

"I bought a star at the Space Center… So that we never forget what happened there," Athena said, pulling out a glittering Christmas tree topper.

"Can I put it up?" I asked.

"Charley's a little tall for you," Apollo noted.

"I'm not that short!" I grumbled. Athena handed me the Christmas tree topper, and I reached up to put it on the tree. I was tall enough… With the help of the hula hoop that I'd accidentally stepped on. I tripped forward, knocking Charley over as we both tumbled into the ground. I heard an awful shattering noise as shards of glass broke through my skin.

"Shoot!" I heard my Daddy say. "Apollo, can you run and see if you can get a pot? There's a supermarket next to Eldoon's."

"Y-yeah!" Apollo bolted out the door.

"Trucy, are you alright?!" Athena asked.

"I… I think so…" I tried to stand up, but bits of glass cut into my hands. Athena grabbed me around the waist and helped me to my feet.

Charley's pot had completely shattered, dirt and bits of glass scattered everywhere. The star, as well as several ornaments, were in pieces as well. I gasped. _What did I do?! _I opened my mouth to speak, but I was scared that Athena would hear my emotions, so I ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and cried silently. I looked into the mirror to find several cuts oozing blood down my face, mixing with my tears to create an orange color.

"Poor Trucy," I heard Athena say from the other room.

"Charley's gone through a lot… But Trucy just might be too much for him," my Daddy chuckled. I knew he was joking, but the words stung. Charley had been with Daddy through the hardest times in his life, and yet it seemed that I was the most difficult time of all.

Tears fell silently down my face, splattering the floor with orange.

_It's pretty obvious that I'll never belong. So much for my wish._

_Maybe a miracle is just something that doesn't exist. _

**llllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****lllllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllll****llllllllllllllll**

Continue to cry… It's ok, I know, I cried too. Take a nice, deep breath… Here, I'll even cheer you up with a nice little (gigantic) quote wall! :)

Can: ...Is that why I got hate mail for starting World War II this morning?

Can: ...It was an accident.  
MadFox: "accident".  
Can: Yes, an accident.  
MadFox: I don't think that word means what you think it means, Herr Forehead.  
Can: (I don't think the word "forehead" means what you think it means, either.)  
MadFox: Then what do you think I think it means? Because I mean what I say and I say what I mean, by all means.  
Can: ...Meanie.  
MadFox: #comebackswithcan

MadFox: If hope is a thing with feathers, it explains why I've found 4 dead birds in the past week.  
Can: ...Just four? Wow, you're lucky.  
(later)  
MadFox: Who knows, they could've turned Kristoph into a good guy.  
Lumos: That's kinda impossible at this point.  
MadFox: I can hope.  
Lumos: Be prepared for a lot of dead birds, then.  
(Still later)  
(MadFox and Lumos are making debating over Apollo's lame end-game speech)  
_Apollo: There's hope now. We'd lost it, but somehow, we found it again. That's why people are smiling again… Hope.  
_MadFox: I guess he stopped finding dead birds.  
Lumos: Yup. Just dead best friends.  
Lumos: ...I feel like such a terrible person, but I can't stop laughing.

Misa: Stupid timezones. You guys are roughly 12 hours behind me :(  
MadFox: Misa's struggling with some tough shift. XD  
Lumos: Guys, I just discovered that it's really hard to eat a melting ice cream bar without dropping it on your laptop while laughing your head off.

MadFox: (At the ending sentence) _I always hated the color orange._ XD #greatendingswithMadFox

(Misa abbreviates One True Original Character Pairing and Red completely misunderstands)  
Red: I would read a fanfic with the author's Overlord Totalitarian One Crazy Pairing.

MadFox: NOOOO CAN YOU KILLED IT.  
Lumos: Can?! Why?!  
Can: OH. PLEASE EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO AND TAKE A KNIFE AND SHOVE IT THROUGH MY FACE ...Is that even logistically possible

Can: You were _meant _to get into AA, weren't you?  
MadFox: Yep. It was DESTINY  
Lumos: No. It was your _density. _

Red: The deeply insulted fanfiction author retreated to her Pokemon-pl ushie-fill ed lair, contemplat ing life, liberty, and the pursuit of fictional lawyers.  
MadFox: … Don't judge the Pikachu.  
Red: Pikachu must be judged!  
MadFox: Pikachu will kill you in your sleep. With electric bolts of FEELS.

Lumos: No. That's just this chapter.

Red: Not if I'm guarded by an army of Geodude. They cause earthquakes of childhood father murders.  
(one intense internet pokemon battle later)

Red: Red flees the battle because her trainer insists she clean her room!

(Looking at weird Deviantart images)

Can: If Phoenix marries Apollo, in theory, Phoenix would become Trucy's adoptive father, as well as her brother-in-law. Apollo would become Trucy's biological brother, as well as her adoptive parent. And that's reason #158972358 923 Why Apollo Hasn't Married Phoenix.

MadFox: (Still a better love story than Twilight)  
Misa: (What about Manfred and Franziska getting married and having a kid named Adolf?)  
MadFox: (Still a better love story than Twilight)

Can: Gothca.

…

MadFox: You're so much like Apollo, it's uncanny. (No pun intended)

Can: (I have a feeling that pun was very much intended.)

MadFox: (I swear it wasn't I literally died after typing it XD) LITERALLY died. Like, I'm dead right now.

Can: Woah, heaven has wi-fi?! Cool!  
MadFox: I love how you assume that I went to heaven. Unfortunately for you, I've risen from the depths of hell to see you again.

Lumos: True love knows no bounds. ;D

Can: Lumos. LUMOS.

Lumos: What did I do? * while laughing hysterically*

Can: ...Let's not even start.

Lumos: This chapter is making me want to cry a lot. Tears of sorrow...And tears of mirth.  
(later)  
Can: Looks like I have to go for the day.  
MadFox: DON'T DIE.  
Can: I won't die. I promise. (well no guarantees actually)  
Lumos: You don't need to worry, MadFox. Remember, true love knows no bounds.

(Talking about Apollo's next chapter)  
Can: You mean Chapter 56?  
Can: …I MEANT** SIX.  
**MadFox: Welp, we have to add in 50 chapters between December 21 and December 31. We've got this.  
Lumos: ...If you wanna count by 11.2's, Can, then that's fine by me…  
Can: Chapter 5- Phoenix blinked. Chapter 6- Phoenix reached for the phone. Chapter 7- Phoneix entered Maya's number and asked if she could come over for the Christmas party he was planning. Yeah, we've got this alright.  
MadFox: No, too short.  
Lumos: I think It's fine ;)  
Can: Chapter 5- T. Chapter 6- o. Chapter 7- o. Chapter 8- B. Chapter 9- a. Chapter 10- d. Chapter 11- :P. Any better?  
MadFox: Phoenix's eye twitched with anticipation, the skin of his eyelids itching to close. With a deep breath, Phoenix willed the whites of his eyes to succumb to darkness, as blindness overtook him. He opened them again a moment later, light flooding his eyes and greeting him into the world once again.

Lumos: *isosceles trapezoid of applause* ;D  
Can: ...Well, thanks for demonstrating just why I call you Chief again.

MadFox: Do you like the corpse in my room? My brother decorated it with candy.

Lumos: Hey, Can, I sent you a PM on fanfiction. Did you get it?  
Can: Yeah, I'll get onto it now.  
* 20 minutes later*  
Can: Done.

MadFox: Are you planning on publishing your novel?  
Lumos: Took you long enough.  
Can: It was just twenty minutes!  
MadFox: (Only he can get away with using "just" like that.)  
Lumos: Are you sure you sent it? It's been five minutes and I think I'm going to crash Chrome from hitting the refresh button so much.  
MadFox: Mozilla MadFox crashed. XD

Lumos: Okay, I responded, Can. Also, my response to your predicted response to the last line of my last response is: "Yes. I did just say that."

Can: Thanks for saving me the time and effort to ask you if you did indeed just say that.  
*Somehow, we all lose this conversation before it could go up on the quote wall, leading us to recreate quote*

Lumos: I suppose we can just guesstimate. *Types up the gist of it* Can, go see if you're in character.

MadFox: HAPPY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU  
Can: WHY THANK YOU SO MACH SEVEN ELEVANESENCE

(After noting that all life crises in AA happen at Christmastime, this sort of just happened. Nobody is accepting responsibility for starting or adding to it.)

DYING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS CHARLEY

HAVE A SUCKY HOLIDAY

EVERYONE'S SOBBING TERRIBLY

IN THE NEW OLD FASHIONED WAY

YOU CAN GET AN AWFUL, GUILTY FEELING IF YOU HEAR

VOICES OF YOUR DEAD FRIENDS SINGING

"IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT WE'RE NOT LIVING"

CORPSES AROUND THE CHRISTMAS CHARLEY

HAVE AN AWFUL HOLIDAY

FILLING YOUR LIFE WITH MISERY

IN THE NEW OLD FASHIONED WAY


End file.
